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Make a direct transfer from the institution holding one account to the company where the money is going, says IRA expert Ed Slott. Ask the firm on the receiving end for help; any checks should not be made out directly to you. “That can become a tax trap,” he warns.

“This is more to alert people to take other sources of income into account,” Ed Slott, CPA and founder of IRAhelp.com, told FOX Business. “It helps to highlight situations that caused problems last year.”

IRS Publication 590 tells you everything you need to know about IRAs: contributing to them, withdrawing from them, and rolling over to them.

Investors often struggle with how to allocate their investment dollars: company retirement plan or IRA; traditional or Roth accounts. 

Despite their best intentions, retirees sometimes miss their required minimum distributions. 

"File early as you normally would and at least secure a place in line for when refunds will be issued. Don't wait until things get back to normal," Ed Slott, a certified public accountant who founded IRAHelp.com, told Business Insider. "That would only further delay your refund."

Ed Slott, president of Ed Slott & Company, and Julie Welch, partner and director of Tax at Meara, Welch and Browne speak to CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” about selling stocks for tax benefits.

“The Roth IRA removes the uncertainty of what future taxes can do to your retirement account,” says Ed Slott, a certified public accountant and founder of IRAHelp.com.

If you use a financial adviser or accountant, understand that even they might not be up to speed on the best IRA tax strategies. It pays to educate yourself, and one of the best resources is Ed Slott (IRAhelp.com). In many of his articles, he points out aspects of the IRA tax code that are known by very few IRA investors. Here are some of these regulations that you should be aware of.

It's the fourth quarter and that means it's required minimum distributions season.